Perspectives of civil society on governance of urban shrinkage: the cases of Heerlen (Netherlands) and Blaenau Gwent (Wales) compared

ABSTRACT

In light of the ongoing urban shrinkage debate, planners stressed the need for new planning concepts and strategies. In this respect, the relevance of involving civil society in governance of urban shrinkage has been emphasized. So far, however these issues have received limited attention. This paper aims to contribute to the debate by investigating (1) how actors in civil society experience urban shrinkage and (2) their perspectives on the governance of urban shrinkage. We study this in two shrinking medium-sized cities: Heerlen (the Netherlands) and Blaenau Gwent (Wales). To answer these research questions, we make use of the concept of social capital. We follow a comparative case study design, primarily basing the analysis on data from 52 in-depth interviews. In the case studies, specific patterns of social capital can be observed: strong place attachment, strong informal participation and weak trust of civil society in local governments. However, the experience of urban shrinkage and the reaction to shrinkage differs. We conclude that understanding shrinkage and addressing it are predominately context related. Explanations based on historical developments and welfare state provisions are offered. The paper ends with reflections on the implications of these findings for governance of urban shrinkage.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban shrinkage
• governance
• social capital
• comparative approach
• welfare states

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Giffinger, Fertner, Kramar, and Meijers (2008) defined ‘medium-sized’ cities on a European scale as city regions of fewer than 500,000 inhabitants. However, the meaning of ‘medium-size’ depends on the scale one uses. In the context of many European shrinking urban areas, cities with populations of 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants can be perceived as medium-sized (Ročak et al., 2016b).

2 For an analysis of the definitions of shrinkage, see for example: Hospers and Reverda (2015) and Ročak (2018).

3 In this study, we look at history, geographical characteristics, national context, local policies, and

regeneration strategies.

4 Difference between birth rate and death rate.

5 Official name: Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. In 1996 Blaenau Gwent became the county borough council as we know it today.

6 Or a core, referring to the village that merged into a town as we know it today.